What do you think?
Rate this book
Sand Castles
WINNING A LOTTERY ... who hasn't dreamed of it?
Wendy Hodene, for one. She has always been one of those people for whom just enough is plenty. She's married to a charmer, has a young son she loves, and lives close to family in a small New England house that her great-grandfather built. True, she'd love to have room for a three-cushion couch (and of course more closet space), but all in all, she's happy with her life.
Happy, until her husband Jim goes and wins a lottery, upending every reassuring aspect of Wendy's existence. The man she thought she was married to for a decade turns out to be someone else entirely; the house she thought she wanted renovated turns into a stress-inducing pile of dust and demolition; the son who once desired nothing more than a new video game now wants a big new house on the beach; and the mysterious contractor who shows up among the crew on a fine June morning turns out to be a man who's both able and willing to destroy all that Wendy holds dear.
Zack Tompkins has better things to do than to knock down walls and put in floor joists, but his fragile and heartbroken sister Zina is convinced that the lottery winner whose photo she's seen in a newspaper is the man who once married and then abandoned her. It doesn't take long after he's signed on as crew in the Hodene renovation for Zack to see that Zina was right. His choice then becomes all too wound his sister, or tear apart a family.
As dreams and schemes are washed away like sand castles from an incoming tide, one truth some hearts, not fully broken, can mend and still be whole again.
Reviews
"Well-drawn, sympathetic characters, exceptional writing, and an intriguing premise that puts a new spin on a classic plot combine to produce a riveting story of selfishness, betrayal, and love that readers will find hard to put down. Stockenberg is a RITA Award-winning author and is noted for her compelling, emotionally involving stories."
--Library journal
"Moral dilemmas abound in this intriguing and compelling tale."
--Booklist
"A powerful suspense thriller ... the characters are a superb group, especially the key foursome. The plot is filled with twists and turns ... fans of taut thrillers with a romance will want to read this strong intrigue."
--Harriet Klausner, Bookbrowser
"A beautiful story filled with imagination, complexity, and sweet love, SAND CASTLES had plot twists that had me tearing through the pages to find out what happened next. A keeper and a must-have for all lovers of romance."
--The Word on Romance
"Antoinette Stockenberg is a consummate storyteller, and SAND CASTLES is another example of how well she has mastered her craft. The author is in top-notch form. The characterizations are wonderfully drawn and believable in their actions and reactions. There are enough plot twists and turns to keep a reader highly interested. A sure-fire winner and highly recommended reading!"
--NewAndUsedBooks.com
"Antoinette Stockenberg continues to display an immense talent for creating powerful and gripping dramas that give readers the full range of human emotions."
--Romantic Times
"This book was wonderful! In fact, I was so caught up in the story, I forgot to analyze anything. Twists, good dialogue and a question to answer at the end .... Kudos ... an excellent read.
--Old Book Barn Gazette
Wendy Hodene, for one. She has always been one of those people for whom just enough is plenty. She's married to a charmer, has a young son she loves, and lives close to family in a small New England house that her great-grandfather built. True, she'd love to have room for a three-cushion couch (and of course more closet space), but all in all, she's happy with her life.
Happy, until her husband Jim goes and wins a lottery, upending every reassuring aspect of Wendy's existence. The man she thought she was married to for a decade turns out to be someone else entirely; the house she thought she wanted renovated turns into a stress-inducing pile of dust and demolition; the son who once desired nothing more than a new video game now wants a big new house on the beach; and the mysterious contractor who shows up among the crew on a fine June morning turns out to be a man who's both able and willing to destroy all that Wendy holds dear.
Zack Tompkins has better things to do than to knock down walls and put in floor joists, but his fragile and heartbroken sister Zina is convinced that the lottery winner whose photo she's seen in a newspaper is the man who once married and then abandoned her. It doesn't take long after he's signed on as crew in the Hodene renovation for Zack to see that Zina was right. His choice then becomes all too wound his sister, or tear apart a family.
As dreams and schemes are washed away like sand castles from an incoming tide, one truth some hearts, not fully broken, can mend and still be whole again.
Reviews
"Well-drawn, sympathetic characters, exceptional writing, and an intriguing premise that puts a new spin on a classic plot combine to produce a riveting story of selfishness, betrayal, and love that readers will find hard to put down. Stockenberg is a RITA Award-winning author and is noted for her compelling, emotionally involving stories."
--Library journal
"Moral dilemmas abound in this intriguing and compelling tale."
--Booklist
"A powerful suspense thriller ... the characters are a superb group, especially the key foursome. The plot is filled with twists and turns ... fans of taut thrillers with a romance will want to read this strong intrigue."
--Harriet Klausner, Bookbrowser
"A beautiful story filled with imagination, complexity, and sweet love, SAND CASTLES had plot twists that had me tearing through the pages to find out what happened next. A keeper and a must-have for all lovers of romance."
--The Word on Romance
"Antoinette Stockenberg is a consummate storyteller, and SAND CASTLES is another example of how well she has mastered her craft. The author is in top-notch form. The characterizations are wonderfully drawn and believable in their actions and reactions. There are enough plot twists and turns to keep a reader highly interested. A sure-fire winner and highly recommended reading!"
--NewAndUsedBooks.com
"Antoinette Stockenberg continues to display an immense talent for creating powerful and gripping dramas that give readers the full range of human emotions."
--Romantic Times
"This book was wonderful! In fact, I was so caught up in the story, I forgot to analyze anything. Twists, good dialogue and a question to answer at the end .... Kudos ... an excellent read.
--Old Book Barn Gazette
ebook
First published May 19, 2002
62 people are currently reading
396 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
July 18, 2012
A good story but I felt the author hurried the last two chapters. I would have liked them stretched out just a little more. Also, I wish the publisher would stop putting so many promos at the end of each of her books. A little is good. More than 200 pages is too much.
July 30, 2012
This book was okay. I didn't find the storyline too interesting or any of the characters, but it entertained me and I finished it still. Was good for a .99 cent nook book.
January 21, 2016
Loved it enough to stay up reading til after 3 in the morning!
September 24, 2020
Not an average romance
First of all, I didn't care for some of the characters. Zina seemed off in her own world, and Jim showed no emotion. I wondered why Wendy trusted Zack when he had handled so much so poorly. Second, we had invested so much time in Jim's character only to have the resolution end so abruptly. I've liked this author's writing in the past, but I'm not too crazy about this particular novel.
First of all, I didn't care for some of the characters. Zina seemed off in her own world, and Jim showed no emotion. I wondered why Wendy trusted Zack when he had handled so much so poorly. Second, we had invested so much time in Jim's character only to have the resolution end so abruptly. I've liked this author's writing in the past, but I'm not too crazy about this particular novel.
October 26, 2017
The story took too long to get started, never grabbed me in, and finally ended too quickly with some unresolved issues. (mental breakdown? where did the money go?) The big plus was that it didn't follow a formula and I had no idea where the story was going.
May 30, 2017
Easy story
Went a little wonky towards the end, some storylines could have used a little more background but a quick, enjoyable read with a happy ending.
Went a little wonky towards the end, some storylines could have used a little more background but a quick, enjoyable read with a happy ending.
June 26, 2017
Great story, but it lacks of suspense and with limited variety of plot.
December 7, 2018
I felt it was a little slower than I thought it would be the end was the best part
April 22, 2020
Killing off the bad guy is one way to resolve the story.
July 8, 2023
Loved this book!! Perfect for a read on the beach. It’s so real and you connect so closely with Zach
January 31, 2020
Part of a 3 box set -- assuming a Trilogy. This was a cute read taking place in Providence. Some nice twists but a fun easy read. Looking forward to the next book
March 9, 2017
Easy beach read. Rather predictable ending but good if you are looking for that quick romance novel with a happy ending.
March 10, 2013
Meh.
Edit: I had to come back and add to my review, because it's been bothering me since I read it.
The whole book was meh, and predictable, and boring. I knew what was going to happen from the minute I read the first chapter. There were a few little "WHA?" moments, but they weren't in a good way. They were in a "why on earth is the author putting this in this story?" kind of way.
But in general, I got pissed because the author just took the laziest way out of every single thing.
Spoiler:
Great, now I'm mad all over again that I read this.
Edit: I had to come back and add to my review, because it's been bothering me since I read it.
The whole book was meh, and predictable, and boring. I knew what was going to happen from the minute I read the first chapter. There were a few little "WHA?" moments, but they weren't in a good way. They were in a "why on earth is the author putting this in this story?" kind of way.
But in general, I got pissed because the author just took the laziest way out of every single thing.
Spoiler:
Great, now I'm mad all over again that I read this.
Read
February 10, 2016Wendy Hodene wants for nothing except, like every woman, extra closet space. But even that whim lies within reach when she and her devoted husband Jim win the lottery and launch a renovation of the cozy, antique New England home that has been in the family for generations. Wendy is certain life can't get any better than this, until a surprise comes her way--surprise that will change her world forever. At first, winning the lottery jackpot seems to be the answer to the Hodenes' unspoken prayers. Now they can secure their son's college education, pay off debts--perhaps even splurge a little. But the sudden windfall will drastically alter the most reliable reassuring aspects of Wendy's life, as well as the people who matter most in it. Now everything hangs in the balance: her home, her child, her marriage. It isn't long before Wendy realizes that the man she thought she knew best has
become a virtual stranger, and that a man he hardly knows at all holds the key to her husband's startling past--and her family's precarious future...
become a virtual stranger, and that a man he hardly knows at all holds the key to her husband's startling past--and her family's precarious future...
August 12, 2012
This book is another one of those that really bugged me. So the family wins the lottery, and the husband changes. The wife really wants things to be as they were. Turns out the husband is still married to another woman. The other woman is rather lost and wanders through life aimlessly with a multitude of mental issues. She's convinced that lottery Jim is her husband. In an attempt to protect her, her misguided brother decides to go find out. He does so by working construction on the addition to their house. He finds himself connected to Wendy, Jim's wife #2. They begin a torrid affair. I don't know, it just seemed to be a messed up, unbelievable scenario to me.
July 23, 2013
Unlike some of the reviewers I have read here, I really enjoyed this book. I quickly got into the characters and plot. I did not think it so "predictable", yes there were some things I could foresee, but I didn't think it was as obvious as some romance novels I have read. I enjoyed the feeling of mystery I got. The husband was a very good liar and could have fooled me too. Guess I'm naive. I recommended this book to other reader friends of mine because I thoroughly enjoyed it and am now in the process of reading my second Stockenberg novel.
April 17, 2013
I liked reading the book while I was on vacationing on the beach. It's an easy, no thinking required book, which is nice for vacation. I enjoyed reading the book but after awhile I wanted a new story.
February 6, 2015
This was a different kind of story that had several twists and turns to the plot. Bigamy, lottery winners, gamblers, multiple identities, homeless cats, crushed spirits, were just a part of this tale. It was entertaining.
November 11, 2017
Modern
May 31, 2011
It was an OK book. Not really that interesting. I wouldnt recommend it and dont plan to pass it on. I will trade it for a different one. But it was something to read on a long bus ride....
July 16, 2012
Slow to start, but a good mystery. Does keep you captured from the middle to the end!!! I'll have to read another one of hers to see if they are similar or different
July 17, 2012
This started out slow but it definitely picked up and kept my interest until the end!
July 11, 2012
A good quick read. First time reading Antoinette Stockenberg, but will definitely read another.
July 22, 2012
You just never know what may happen when you win the lottery! And that is what this book is about. I enjoyed the story line. A little mystery and some romance all tossed into the story.
July 15, 2012
Not great, but good. A quick read.
July 16, 2012
Beach reading at it's finest (pardon the pun!).
July 20, 2012
Not worth reading, even as a light beach read.
August 30, 2016
8/30/16
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews